Hyundai Motor : Rallye Monte-Carlo – Day Four Report

• · Hyundai Motorsport endured a character-building start to the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) at Rallye Monte-Carlo
• · Thierry Neuville was the team's sole finisher, taking sixth place overall and a stage win on the final morning. He also added three points for a committed drive in the Power Stage.
• · Oliver Solberg was withdrawn from the rally after Sunday's opening stage after feeling unwell following fume issues that had hampered his rally.

Monte-Carlo, Monaco January 23, 2022- Hyundai Motorsport has completed the opening round of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship, Rallye Monte-Carlo, with Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe taking sixth place after a challenging weekend for the team.

Sunday's itinerary headed back into the Alpes Maritimes for two stages, La Penne/Collongues (SS14/SS16 - 19.37km) and Briançonnet/Entrevaux (SS15/SS17 - 14.26km), each run twice. With only two Hyundai Motorsport crews taking the start on the final morning, following the retirement of Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja on Saturday evening, the objective was to bring home both remaining Hyundai i20 N Rally1 cars.

Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson started the day hoping to pick up more valuable experience in their first WRC weekend with the team. Unfortunately, the ill effects of fume issues from the past two days left Solberg feeling unwell and, despite completing Sunday's opening stage, he was withdrawn from the rally on health grounds.

Neuville, meanwhile, set his sights on the Power Stage in a bid to claim some extra points from a demanding weekend. The Belgian, who has shown his sheer determination throughout the rally, claimed a stage win on the first pass through Briançonnet/Entrevaux. He then gave his all in the Power Stage to take three extra points.

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

• · Belgian crew put in maximum effort on the final morning
• · Stage win in SS15 and three points from the Power Stage

Neuville said: "At the end of this rally, we are left with feelings of disappointment and frustration. We had a tough weekend. I drove for my life in the Power Stage, I gave it absolutely everything, so I was disappointed with the time. There has been a huge amount of work behind the scenes to prepare for this event, from me and Martijn, as well as the team, so to come away without any reward is hard to accept. We won't give up. We are trying to keep everyone motivated and we will continue pushing. The will is definitely there and that's important. There are different areas we are going to work on but most important is the reliability. We need to be much stronger for the upcoming events."

Crew Notes: Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (#2 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

• · Crew started Sunday optimistic to gain more experience in their new car
• · After SS14 (La Penne/Collongues), they were feeling unwell and retired from the rally

Solberg said: "We started the day with some hope. Our plan was to gain more mileage today - for the car, the team and ourselves - we just wanted to drive and have fun. We were seventh through SS14 but after the stage we agreed with the team to retire the car as we were not feeling well after what we'd experienced over the past couple of days. It's been a long, tough weekend but I am happy with what I've done. Even if it's been tricky, we've set some good splits and stage times. There are always positives to take away.Big thanks to the team too, it's been long days and the dedication is fantastic. Together as a team we'll keep pushing and working to improve for next time!"

Deputy Team Director Julien Moncet said: "It has definitely been a tough rally for us. I am disappointed for all the team who have pushed so hard, those at the rally and those at the factory. We have to react. From a sporting point of view, I am not happy because we are here to win, and the result is not according to our expectations. Nevertheless, we have been able to check a lot of systems on our new Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car, and there are always good things to take out of even the most difficult moments. When the car ran trouble-free, we could show some competitive times so the pace is there. We just have to sort out our issues as quickly as possible."

Next Rally

• · Round two of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship sees a return to Rally Sweden, taking place from February 24-27.

Final Overall Classification -Rallye Monte-Carlo

1	S. Loeb	I. Galmiche	Ford Puma Rally1	3:00:32.8
2	S. Ogier	B. Veillas	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+10.5
3	C. Breen	P. Nagle	Ford Puma Rally1	+1:39.8
4	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+2:16.2
5	G. Greensmith	J. Andersson	Ford Puma Rally1	+6:33.4
6	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+7:42.6
7	A. Mikkelsen	T. Eriksen	Škoda Fabia Evo	+11:33.8
8	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+12:24.7
9	E. Cais	P. Tesínský	Ford Fiesta Mk II	+12:29.2
10	N. Gryazin	K. Aleksandrov	Škoda Fabia Evo	+13:41.3

2022 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers' Standings
After round 1

1	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team	40
2	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	39
3	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	13
4	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team NG	8

2022 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers' Standings
After round 1

1	S. Loeb	27
2	S. Ogier	19
3	K. Rovanperä	17
4	C. Breen	15
5	T. Neuville	11
6	G. Greensmith	10
7	A. Mikkelsen	6
8	T. Katsuta	4
9	E. Evans	4
10	E. Cais	2
11	M. Gryazin	1

About Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Established on 19 December 2012, Hyundai Motorsport GmbH is responsible for Hyundai's global motorsport activities, including the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Customer Racing and electric racing projects. In WRC, Hyundai Motorsport quickly established a strong reputation taking victory in its debut season in 2014. The team finished as runners-up in the manufacturers' championship on three consecutive occasions between 2016 and 2018 before claiming its first title in 2019 and repeating the feat in 2020. Since the establishment of its Customer Racing activities in September 2015, Hyundai Motorsport has become a trusted partner for teams and drivers looking for success on the rally stages or on racetracks around the world. From its competitive i20 R5 rally car to the competitive i30 N TCR, Hyundai Motorsport-built cars have claimed victory in several championships, including national rally series in France and Spain, as well as consecutive titles in the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) in 2018 and 2019. Designed and built at its Alzenau headquarters, the Veloster N ETCR was unveiled in September 2019 and heralds an exciting new era, in which electric racing is set to become one of the company's pillars. Unified under Hyundai Motorsport, WRC, Customer Racing and electric racing are together playing instrumental roles in driving Hyundai's global high-performance N brand, and are supporting an important perception shift for the Hyundai brand around the world.

Further information about Hyundai Motorsport is available at:http://motorsport.hyundai.com

About Hyundai Motor Company
Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is present in over 200 countries with more than 120,000 employees dedicated to tackling real-world mobility challenges around the globe. Based on the brand vision 'Progress for Humanity,' Hyundai Motor is accelerating its transformation into a Smart Mobility Solution Provider. The company invests in advanced technologies such as robotics and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) to bring about revolutionary mobility solutions, while pursuing open innovation to introduce future mobility services. In pursuit of sustainable future for the world, Hyundai will continue its efforts to introduce zero emission vehicles equipped with industry-leading hydrogen fuel cell and EV technologies.

More information about Hyundai Motor and its products can be found at:http://worldwide.hyundai.comor http://globalpr.hyundai.com/